Snuff-box opener



B. HEEREN.

SNUFF BOX PENER.

APPLICATION man ma. 3x, 1920.

afbented June 14, i921.1T

UNITED STATES BENJIMAN HEEREN, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

SNUFF-BOX OPENER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 14;, 1921.

Application filed March 31, 1920. Serial No. 370,069.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, BENJIMAN HEEREN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State ofMinnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSnuff-BoxOpeners; and I do hereby d eclare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an extremely simple andeflicient device for opening snuff boxes or other boxes or cans whichhave detachable covers and paper wrappers; and to such ends, generallystated, the invention consists of the novel construction and combinationof parts hereinafter described and defined in the claim.

Snu boxes and various other cans, as is well known, have flanged coverstelescoped with the body of the can or box and usually have paperwrappers stuck to the exterior of the box and to the flange of thecover, and normally holding the covers in working' position. 'lo openthe box or can by the removal of the cover, it is then necessary tobreak or cut the paper wrapper on the line of the lower edge of theflange of the cover; and it is the object of my invention to provide avery cheap and simple attachment to the cover, by the use of which, thiscover and the wrapper may be quickly and easily opened.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring t0 the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a snuffl box with my opener orwrapper cutter applied thereto and illustrating the manner in which thedevice is adapted to be used;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective showing a portion of the snuff boxand the cutter applied thereto.

The numeral 3 indicates the body of the snuff box and the numeral 2 thecover thereof. The box 3 may be assumed to be stamped from heavy paperor paste board, while the cover 2 will usually be of metal. The numeral4 indicates the paper wrapper which will be stuck to the exterior of thebox and to the outer surface of the flange of the cover 2 in thecustomary way.

The cutter is formed from a single piece of thin sheet metal, preferablybent to form a top plate 5 having at one end a U-shaped depending cutterblade 6. The top plate 5 is adapted to lie iiatwise upon the top of thecover'2 and the U-shaped cutter blade G embraces the depending ange ofthe cover, thus interlocking the cutter to the flange of the cover andto the top thereof. Otherwise stated, the cutter is interlocked to thecover with freedom for traveling movements along the depending flangethereof. 0f course, the outer part of the blade 6 is on the exterior ofthe flange of the cover and the inner portion of said blade is betweensaid flange-and the upper portion of the box 3. To facilitate movementof the cutter, the top plate 5 is provided with a flange 6 that will benormally turned down against the said plate, as indicated by dottedlines in Fig. 2, but is adapted to be turned upward, as shown in Figs. 1and 2, to afford a finger piece which, when engaged by the linger andthumb, adapts the cutter to be moved along the flange of the cover withthe plate 5 traveling on the top of the cover.

This cutter will be applied to the cover before the' cover is applied tothe box or can and, thereafter, the wrapper or paper cover 4l will beapplied to the box and to the flange of the cover and around the blade6. lVhen the cutter is moved from its initial position, it will breakthrough the wrapper and, thereafter, sliding movement thereof along theflange of the cover will cause the wrapper to be cut or severed alongthe lower edge of the cover flange, to wit, along the dotted line markedy-g/ on Fig. l, and this, as is evident, will free the cover for removalfrom the box, and moreover, will loosen the flange from the upperportion of the box. After the cover has thus been loosened and freed forremoval, the flange 6 can be turned back or downward against the plate5, so that it will be out of the way, and in fact, the entire cutter,while not removed from the cover, will be entirely out of the way andpermit the box to be thereafter used, just as if the cutter haddisappeared.

Obviously, this cutter can be applied to snuff boxes and cans at a verytrilling cost.

W'hat I claim is:

The combination with a box or can and a flanged cover therefor, of acutter slidably L interlooked to the flange of said cover .and

adapt-ed to be moved thereon, the Said boX o1' een having a paperWrapper that is no1"- melly stuck to the body thereof and to the rim ofS21-id cover, the said cutter comprising a U-shaped 'blade that embracesthe flange of said coveiq and a body plate that rests on the top of saidcover, the said body portion having a flange adapted to be bent downagainst the same or to be turned up- 10 Ward for use.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature.

BENJIMAN HEEREN.

